Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford will attend the Taste of the Lions event on Tuesday at Ford Field. / US PRESSWIRE

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

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Chef-owner Brian Polcyn of Forest Grill in Birmingham will lead chefs in the first Taste of the Lions event Tuesday, May 7, at Ford Field to benefit Eastern Market. / Kimberly P. Mitchell/Detroit Free Press

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Twenty-two of metro Detroit’s top restaurants will come together at Ford Field Tuesday for the inaugural edition of Taste of the Lions, a strolling food and wine event to benefit Eastern Market’s efforts to improve food access in the city.

Lions coaches, alumni and players — including quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson — will be on hand to meet fans.

Chefs of the participating restaurants will prepare tastes of their signature dishes — ranging from comfort-food classics like pulled pork and mac and cheese, presented by Slows to Go, to fine-dining dishes such as trifolati de funghi (sautéed wild mushrooms) with Hampshire Farms polenta and Asiago cream sauce, by Bacco Ristorante in Southfield. Wines will be provided by E&J Gallo Winery.

Four of the restaurants — Bacco, the Root, Forest Grill and Cuisine — are current or former Free Press Restaurants of the Year.

Guests can also bid on lavish silent-auction items, enjoy live music by the Jill Jack Band and purchase merchandise for players’ autographs (merchandise cannot be brought in from outside).

General admission tickets are $150 per person. VIP tickets are $250 per person and include a private reception in the Lions locker room with cocktails by Sugar House and early access to the chefs’ food stations. All ticket purchasers will receive a gift bag, wine glass and Taste of the Lions tray.